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Canada’s Auto Capital Caught in Crossfire of Trade Dispute

Angst is rising in Windsor, Ontario, over Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on foreign-built cars and auto parts

To understand why auto tariffs are such a contentious issue today, it helps to go back to the 1970s—with U.S. carmakers dominating the country’s auto market, Japan’s export growth on the horizon, and impending conflict in the Middle East. Photo: AP

WINDSOR, Ontario—For decades, this border town has tied its fortunes to the success of the U.S. car industry. Now with President Trump threatening to impose a hefty tariff on Canadian-made vehicles and auto parts, residents and business owners are worried those ties, already strained by steel tariffs from both sides of the border, could soon be ruptured.

Some car-parts manufacturers and other businesses in this industrial city adjacent to Detroit are starting to feel the effects of the White House’s recent trade actions.